São Paulo edge towards title

With just four rounds remaining in the Campeonato Brasileiro, São Paulo took another decisive step towards retaining their title after a 3-2 win away at Portuguesa.

A brace from Borges and a late winner from Zé Carlos* ensured the points would be heading to the Morumbi. But São Paulo were fortuitous to say the least. The Portuguesa defence twice gave the ball back to São Paulo for the two Borges goals. And in the closing stages, Edno came very close to securing a point for Portuguesa only to be denied by the bar.

*The goal was awarded to Borges on Sunday.

At the end of the match, Muricy Ramalho’s men were insistent that the championship had not yet been won. But the player’s gleeful expressions after the 90 minutes were enough to convince most onlookers that São Paulo truly believe the Brasileiro is in the bag.See the highlights here

The clash between Palmeiras and Grêmio in the Palestra Itália ended in a narrow but crucial win for Celso Roth’s men. With both sides cancelling each other out for most of the match, the game was decided by a Marcos blunder when he completely misjudged Tcheco’s cross cum shot into the area and the ball floated into the net. Grêmio are now two points behind São Paulo but with a run-in that sees them pitted against Coritiba (H), Vitória (A), Ipatinga (A) and Atlético Mineiro (H). These are all games Grêmio should win. So, the final day of the season could be interesting as São Paulo have what could be a tricky fixture away at Goiás.

As for Palmeiras, they drop to 4th and their title ambitions may have gone out of the window following this defeat. Next weekend, Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s men travel to Flamengo and have to win if they want to make the top four and the Libertadores next season.

Cruzeiro did their part against strugglers Fluminense. Ramires grabbing the game’s only goal in the second-half in the Mineirão.

Flamengo remain fifth but are now just a point off Palmeiras after a 1-0 win against Botafogo in the Maracanã. Ex Manchester United man, Kléberson put away a penalty after keeper Renan clattered into Ibson.

Atlético Paranaense came out on top in their relegation six-pointer away to Figueirense. Headers from Alan Bahia and Rafael Moura were enough to lift the Curitiba side away from the bottom four.

Vasco can also breathe a little easier after an Edmundo penalty secured a 1-0 win over Santos in the São Januário. With just three points above the relegation zone, the Vila Belmiro outfit are now drifting back into trouble

But Ipatinga are virtually down after they were crushed 4-0 by a reserve Internacional side in the Beira-Rio. Seven points now separate the bottom seven clubs.